LEMOORE, Calif., June 5 — Mike Kyle’s ferocity after landing an illegal kick to a grounded Brian Olsen prompted off-duty referee Herb Dean to fly into the cage and pry him from the bloodied champion.

Leading into the sequence that would squash his hopes of the WEC Heavyweight title, Kyle stood up with Olsen, the reigning champion, riding his back. As he rose, Olsen toppled from Kyle’s 6’3" frame, and just as Olsen climbed to a knee, Kyle swung around and connected the top of his right foot with the front of Olsen’s face.

Seeing that he was dazed, Kyle pounced with brutal lefts and rights. Referee Josh Rosenthal attempted to stop the fight immediately following the kick, but Kyle had already gone on the attack. Kyle was disqualified 2:42 into the first round for the blow and Olsen retained the title.

After the response by Dean and Rosenthal, Olsen rose to both knees. Blood poured onto the mat from his nostrils like a wide open faucet. Paramedics took the champion away shortly after he wobbled backstage. A pile of bloodied towels remained in the cage. Olsen’s teeth also left their mark on Kyle’s right foot. Blood trickled from the jagged cut, collateral damage for the punishment his foot did to Olsen’s face.

Along with the WEC 135-pound Championship, Eddie Wineland took the biggest upset award for the night. Wineland, hailing from Portage, Indiana, showed the heavily favored Antonio Banuelos the true meaning of "Midwest swing."

Banuelos(Left) vs. Wineland

Wineland peppered Banuelos with lightning-fast combinations. The two traded blows throughout the stand-up bout. Banuelos landed hard rights amidst the flurry, but never sent Wineland packing. All the boxing culminated with a stunning right hook by Wineland to a ducking Banuelos. Wineland pounded the last nail in the champ’s coffin with a right kick as Banuelos stammered backward. The Indiana native tacked up the knockout at 2:35.

Hometown boy, Poppies "Tachi Kid" Martinez, ran screaming from the ring after Cory Cass injured his shoulder during an armbar submission that earned Cass the victory. Cass landed a fierce right uppercut in the opening seconds and after the two went to the floor, Cass slipped on the armbar. The pop from Martinez’s arm rang out from centerstage. The referee ended the fight immediately after only 47 seconds of action.

UFC veteran Nick Diaz has reason to be proud of his brother Nathan, as he dominated his lightweight bout with Gil Rael. Diaz spent much of the of 3:35 long fight mounted on top of Rael. Rael flopped on his stomach to protect his face and clenched Diaz when they were face-to-face.

Diaz tagged Rael with solid shots, but Rael hung in. Diaz stayed in control and his shots connected more frequently until they were right on top of one another – forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Lodune Sincaid, veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter" season one, laid waste to Dan Molina from Ken Shamrock’s Lions Den with a rear-naked choke 3:17 into the first round. Sincaid had the mount on Molina and took advantage of it with deflected connections to the head and face of Molina. When Molina rolled out to get away from his punches, Sincaid was able to go in for the choke.

Kenny Ento, also a native of Lemoore, has made a name for himself putting down opponents with submissions. His middleweight bout with Phil Collins was no different. It became obvious after the bell that the shorter, thicker built Collins had the strength advantage over the taller, thinner Ento. Collins slammed Ento to the mat and manhandled him across the cage, landed a right to the Ento’s chin that sent him stumbling into the fence. Ento quickly recovered, and as the two went to the mat, Ento worked in an armbar, earning him the submission 1:07 into the first round.

Because he cut weight leading up to the fight, Cassio Werneck felt weak in the ring he told the audience later. That didn’t stop him from earning a victory by submission, though, over Ashe Bowman 3:05 into the second round. Werneck kept Bowman on his back most of the first round. Werneck, and while partially mounted on top of Bowman in the second, Werneck was able to clamp on the armbar to end the fight.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 6 — Eleven fights transpired on the European Vale Tudo 6 card aptly titled "Ragnarok," the Norse mythos denoting the twilight of the Gods. With the Swedish parliament expected to ban MMA in the Nordic country in just under three weeks as MMA’s popularity reaches an all-time high in the U.S. and elsewhere, the event’s name was not been lost on the sport’s local proponents, who contend the move is attributed to election year politics in the city renowned for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Full Contact Fighter was on hand for the first EVT in Stockholm two years ago and was also in attendance here for its last, a first installment of FCF’s "European Vacation" series.

This card was still a landmark despite the black cloud of impending doom settling over this country’s MMA community. The first women’s fight in Scandinavia was won by Nadia Van Der Wel, even after her opponent Elina Nilsson was getting the better of the striking. Top-ranked European Shooto contender David Baron was def.eated by Sweden’s own Per Eklund, and local legend August Wallen made submitting Brazilian Top Team member Paulo Boiko look easy. However, the fight of the night had to go to Matti Makela and Thomas Valentin for their back-and-forth war. Makela finally won with a succession of knees to the head.

The only downside to the evening was the amount of warnings handed out for fighters kicking at the head of their downed opponents, not too surprising considering this show booked fighters from France, Holland, Denmark, Brazil, and the UK.

Even with the sport set to be banned in the country, there is still hope. MMA is set to get its debut on Swedish television with a PRIDE event tomorrow night and this EVT show in the near future. One would think that this exposure, two local MMA magazines, and the extensive Shooters Gym network would have an influence with the government’s pending decision, but that remains to be seen.

Look for a full report on EVT 6 and more on this insane whirlwind tour of Europe in an upcoming issue of Full Contact Fighter.

EVT 6 "Ragnarok" Results

Navid Yousefi def. Jean Robert Monier – Decision

Olivier Elizabet def. Kristian Hacklou – TKO R1

Tchavdar Pavlov def. Petri Jarvinen TKO R1

Nadia Van Der Wel def. Elina Nilsson – Armbar R1

Kenneth Rosfort def. Christian Dellevag – Decision

Johan Antonsson def. Kristian Lexell – TKO R1

Camara Bouna def. Sonny Nielsen – TKO R1

Ake Bergvall def. Ludovic Perreira – Decision

Matti Makela def. Thomas Valentin – Submission (strikes) R3

Pierre Guillet def. Laurent Bonafoux – Decision

Per Eklund def. David Baron – Decision

August Wallen def. Paulo Boiko – Rear-Naked Choke R3

posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm

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